Welcome to the sixth issue of the PAIR Newsletter. The past few months have been busy and exciting times for the Academy. With the full border reopening and resumption of normal cross-border and international travel, PAIR has been delighted to welcome scholars, academic partners and friends from all over the world to the PolyU campus to participate in PAIR initiatives—particularly the PAIR Conference, which was successfully held in early May 2023.
PAIR’s first flagship event was a huge success. Under the theme of “Research Excellence for Societal Impacts”, more than 100 eminent speakers delivered plenary, keynote and technical presentations, 217 papers were presented, and visits to the laboratories of PAIR constituent research units were conducted. The four-day hybrid event attracted over 2,500 participants joining on site and online from 40 countries and regions. I was very pleased to see the active discussion and dialogue at the Conference. I am sure that the Conference provided an effective platform for professional exchange and future research collaboration. You are welcome to revisit the event highlights at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pairconference2023/.
Collaboration is a key to interdisciplinary research excellence, as are effective leadership and knowledge transfer. In the “Feature Stories” section of this Issue, three important PAIR members offer their insights on various aspects of interdisciplinary research. Prof. Ross COROTIS, Chairman of the PAIR International Advisory Committee, describes the kind of culture and leadership needed for interdisciplinary success, as well as several areas on which leaders and managers must focus. Prof. LI Li, Associate Director of PAIR, shares her ambitious plan to promote knowledge transfer at the Academy, and her views on the importance of “creativity” in research and societal development. Prof. Raymond WONG, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Associate Director of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy and Chair Professor of Chemical Technology, reveals the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in his research on organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and the field of chemistry as he brings solutions to energy problems.
In April 2023, we invited Prof. Kathryn Ann MOLER, Vice Provost and Dean of Research at Stanford University, to share about Stanford’s efforts in designing the university for modern research teams. Our “News & Events” section will give you additional insights, and you are always welcome to view our lectures and seminars at https://www.youtube.com/@pairpolyu3024.
Last but not least, our “Research Achievements” section cover various novel inventions and impactful discoveries at PAIR—including electrolyte additives for batteries, suicidality and factors that protect against suicide, nanoscale ferroelectric materials, selenium compounds for fighting neurodegenerative disease, bioinspired sensors for motion capture, and novel protein immobilisation for tissue engineering—and our “People” section covers some of the regional and international honours, funding successes and important public appointments of PAIR researchers. May these stories spark your curiosity and spur innovation! Thank you very much.
I hope you enjoy reading Issue 6 of the PAIR Newsletter.
Prof CHEN Qingyan
Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research
